Monday, January 31, 2011

Spinach and Asian food are inseparable. I am sure each Indian lunch box can tell a different recipe for this humble spinach. I mix rice and the spinach to make a kind of 'variety rice'. I like this recipe very much because of its simplicity and lesser time consumption. Here goes the recipe.

Take the rice lesser than we normally consume, as the spinach makes a good filler in this recipe.
Bring to boil some 3 cups of water. Wash and add the rice to the boiling water. Put a pinch of salt and reduce the flame. Let it cook. After the rice gets cooked, strain and remove the water.
Keep the cooked rice aside. We can cook the rice in pressure cooker or rice cooker also. But I prefer the above method to prepare any 'variety rice', as it will yield very separate grains.

Method:

Carefully clean the greens and put them in a broad vessel. Wash thrice or more times to remove all dirt. Drain water and chop finely.
Heat oil in a wok. Let the mustard crackle. Then add the chopped onion, chilly, garlic and fry till the onion becomes soft.
Then add the finely chopped greens and stir fry. Don't close the vessel. Sprinkle a little water if necessary. After it gets cooked and almost dry (in 5 minutes), Switch off, add the salt, shredded coconut and cumin seeds. Mix this with the cooked rice along with a tsp of ghee.
Mix well and serve.

Serving suggestion:

This can be prepared for lunch box. Don't add coconut during hot weather in packed foods.
Serve with any spicy side dish like brinjal fry or cauliflower fry.
Serves 2.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Peanut chutney is a famous chutney among South Indians. Some call it as 'sivappu chatney' or 'kara chutney' that means 'red or hot chutney'. My dad loves this very much and after a long time I made it along with idly. It has to be made with more dry red chillies and tamarind to make it super hot. Here goes the recipe.

Dry roast the peanut and let it cool.
(If using roasted peanuts, then skip the above step).
Remove its skin by gently rubbing. Keep aside.
Now add a drop of oil in a wok and roast the dry red chillies till they smell good and turns crispy.
Grind all items given in ingredient list along with the roasted peanut and fried chillies.
Add some water (less than 1 cup) to get a thick and somewhat runny consistency.
Again heat a tsp of oil in a wok and crackle the mustard seeds, immediately add the urad dhal and curry leaves. Fry till the dhal turns red, pour over the prepared chutney.

Verkadalai chutney is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Makes a great combo with idly or dosai.
Serves 4.

Other info:

As some are allergic or hesitant to peanut, don't try this chutney for a get-together.
Some get giddiness , if they take lot of peanut. In that case give them a chunk of jaggery immediately. May be it is a home remedy for people who can't take much peanut.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Thavil vadai is an unique kind of vadai in Tamilnadu. Some people call it as thaval vadai or thavala vadai ,aiming to describe the shape of that vadai (thavil - a musical instrument). This is how we explain in our house, if any one know the proper meaning of the title please let me know:) Moreover this vadai should be made with many lentils and rice, which makes the recipe more interesting.

wash and clean the dhal and rice, Soak the urad dhal separately and others together for 2 hours or till soft.
Grind the urad dhal to fluffy stage, without water.If needed add a tbsp of water. Then take it out. Grind the other dhals and rice without water to a thick and coarse batter along with other ingredients except oil and coconut. Mix with urad dhal batter.
Heat a tsp of oil in a wok and add mustard seeds. As they crackle add the chopped cilantro, curry leaves and pour over the batter. Add the shredded coconut .
Take a lemon size ball of the batter and flatten it slightly. Deep fry it in oil by flipping both sides in medium heat. Don't fry it in high heat. Give ample time to let it cook completely. As soon as the vadai turns mild red , drain oil and take out.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Amla - Indian gooseberry - Periya nellikkai (Tamil).
Here is a quick and healthy dessert using the Indian gooseberry. This is my mom's recipe and she used to prepare some jam varieties also using amla. I used frozen amla, which we get in Indian grocery stores. Keep them handy to satisfy that sugar cravings:)

Ingredients:

Amla - 15
crushed jaggery - 1 cup
water - 1cup
honey - few tbsp

Method:

Bring one cup water to boil. Add the amla and cook well.
In the same time bring 1/4 cup water to boil in a separate vessel and dissolve the jaggery. Filter and remove the impurities.
Add the jaggery solution to the cooked amla and start heating till it becomes very thick syrup. Put off fire and let it cool.
Then add a few tbsp of honey and preserve in a clean dry container.
This can be kept for 6 months if refrigerated.

Serving:

Amla jamun makes a healthy dessert.
This sweet tastes great the next day only, as it may take a few hours for the bitterness to change.

Tips:

*There is another variety of gooseberry also, which will be smaller in size and tastes very sour. My mom used to make a jam out of it. For that jam, Mom would add sugar instead of jaggery and that 'nellikkai jam' would taste incredibly great.
*We can totally avoid the jaggery and add honey to the cooked amla to get a healthy amla jamun. But I have not tried it yet.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I have an endless love with biryanis and this is a vegetarian version, which I tried recently. I prepared this one day for hubby's lunch when I wanted to pack something nice for him. Hope you all like this mushroom biryani.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Popcorn, coke and an English movie are a must for most of us to start a nice weekend. In US, we can see a long queue standing near that 'red-box'es lending dvds. We are no exception to that golden rule and winters add more charm to the above combo:) We would bring home a pack of microwave popcorn also and I have never tried preparing the popcorn at home, as it is much easier to get it done in a microwave. But I really missed that turmeric flavored popcorns we get in Madras. So recently I started to make it at home to control the butter and taste according to our wish.It is a very old method only. My mom used to make this popcorn in an old unusable pressure cooker. But I have used a normal vessel with a glass-lid we generally use in cooking.

Melt the butter in the vessel. Mix turmeric, salt and corn with the butter.
Place the lid and start heating. Wait till we hear A SINGLE popping sound.
Immediately switch off and let it rest for a minute.
Again start heating (with lid closed). Hold the pot and start shaking as it starts popping. Do this in medium heat and shaking gently till the sound stops.

Homemade Popcorn is ready!

Tips:

*Adding some sugar (2 tbsp) instead of turmeric will yield a kettle corn taste.
*I have not tried with red chilly pepper powder, but have heard it also tastes great. But beware of the hot fumes, while using peppers.
*Always use an unwanted vessel, as it may be hard to clean, if got burned.
* We can make it with very less butter also.
*Don't open the vessel while popping.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Hope all are getting ready to celebrate Pongal. Pongal is called as Sankaranthi festival too. Pongal is a well known festival in India, where most of the families have some agricultural roots. In Tamilnadu, people from various religions invariably celebrate it without any hesitation. Every house will get a fresh coat of paint and cows are treated with dignity. Sugarcane, Turmeric and mango leaves decorate every door and people prepare the following recipes.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

This is a very common snack in my home town. Unlike the regular murukku, the thengai paal murukku requires very less butter. The flavor comes from freshly squeezed coconut milk. They shape it essentially like this. Whole green gram flour or urad dhal flour or puffed channa dhal flour are used along with rice flour. I made this for Christmas. Actually getting this shape is a time taking process, so I prepared a few using this star murukku pattern and the rest in tri holed thenkulal pattern.

Coconut milk
1.Scrap the coconut and grind well. Add 1/2 cup luke warm water and extract the milk by filtering. Again add 1/2 cup warm water and extract milk. Do another time also. Use this milk to make murukku dough.
2. If using a coconut milk powder (I used Palmer brand), the prepare 1 cup thick milk and 1 cup thin milk.
3. If using canned coconut milk, go by the directions to get 1 cup thick milk and 1 cup thin milk.

Method:

Heat a wok and dry roast the urid dhal till it we get a nice flavor and starts to smell nice (do not make it turn red). (Always use split and white dhal. Roast the black gram dhal in small portions only). Keep aside and let it cool. Then dry grind it to a fine powder using an Indian mixer.

In the same wok , dry roast the rice flour for about 10 minutes . When we touch it , we should feel it like river sand. Then let it cool.

Put both the flours in a large mixing bowl . Add cumin, sesame, asafoetida and butter. Mix well.

Dissolve the salt in some water. Mix this salt water along with coconut milk powder (or) just use fresh coconut milk + salt and add to the flour.Knead it to a soft chapathi dough consistency.

Now check salt and add more mixing with water,if necessary.

Fit a star pattern murukku mold and fill it with dough.

In the mean time heat the oil in a wide pan till smoking point. Then reduce flame.

Grease a few flat plates with oil and squeeze murukku in the above shape. Carefully slide them one by one into the hot oil. Do not crowd the oil, flip once after one side is done.

After the hissing sound and bubbles subdue, drain and remove the murukku. Place them on paper towel and store them in air tight containers after they get cool.

Coconut milk Murukku is ready!Note:
Makes 15 big size murukku or 30 murukku of our palm diameter.
Can be served with tea or as a snack.
Adding some oil,/ butter will result in lesser oil absorption of murukku.
Pack the murukku in zip lock or plastic covers to prevent it getting less crispy (in humid areas).
If we are preparing more murukku, it is common to divide the flour into few parts and knead the dough just before squeezing.
Never allow the dough to sit in counter for a long time, as it will yield dark colored murukku.The dough can't be refrigerated too. So keep yourself free before starting to prepare murukku and don't stop the process in between.

No. Organic food is not a big deal for me. Generally organic foods are tasty but much expensive in USA and only the people with need go near that aisle in the departmental stores. My personal opinion on organic food is of two fold. I won't recommend expensive organic food unless otherwise stated by a physician. If used to it, we may end up allergic to the normal food in course of time. Moreover I can't appreciate pampering myself with such luxuries, when many out there really struggle for one meal a day. So I would rather donate that excess money to the needy, if I am that rich.
But as a woman hailing from a typical agricultural hometown, I know the benefits of organic farming. Organic farming is the only way to keep the soil fertile and it is not expensive to grow the vegetables with natural manure, (though the yield will be less in the beginning), but the price is more because of the middlemen. So if everyone practices organic farming , a fair trading and if that kind of food is affordable for every person, then I will also buy it.

2. Do you time your breakfast,lunch & dinner or eat when you are hungry ?

My breakfast and lunch will be regular. But I wait for my hubby to come home , so that we can have dinner together. (So the dinner time will depend on his work schedule).

3.Who inspired you to cook or bake?

My mom is my inspiration. She was not only an expert cook but also a very graceful lady. One of her secrets in cooking is finding out the recipe while tasting a new food and make it at home. Though I am not talented like her I would like to follow her ideas:) But she would not alter the authentic recipes she got through generations. It is very difficult nowadays but I too wish to do the same:)

4. You try a new recipe and it does not turn out good,what will you do ?

The first reaction will be a BIG silence, then I put off the stove and take rest for some time. Then I will transform it to something edible but will never waste food.

5. Name three ingredients you consciously avoid or eliminate even when the recipe calls for it ?

Alcoholic beverages
pork, beef, any non veg that is not appetizing for me.
ajinomotto.

Very important . We are just two people in my house, hubby and myself. I love to have food with my husband. We eagerly wait for dinner and weekend meals to sit together and eat while sharing our whole day experience.
In general, by dining together we get to know each other well. We can understand the taste and preferences of our family. So it is a must for every house.

8.You do not like a particular dish at your favorite restaurant,what will you do ?

If it is not spoiled, I will silently order a different dish and finish off. If it is spoiled, I will signal those who are with me:). Mostly I will appreciate the dishes I like and never comment on those I don't.
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Here are some other questions. You can have a choice too.

The second set of questions:

1)Are you a vegetarian, or have you thought about being one?

2) who inspired you to blog?

3) How do you celebrate Christmas?...or a favorite holiday of your choice?

4)Do you prefer to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends and/or family, or prefer to ring in the New Year quietly, and privately, at home?

5)If someone were to ask you to bring dessert to a party, what would you bring? Store bought, or homemade, and if you were to make homemade, what would you make?

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Chevu or sev is a very common spicy snack in the rural areas of Tamilnadu. We can get two versions of it. One belonging to the villages of Southern Tamilnadu, the very spicy HOT 'kovilpatti kara sevu' and the next one is called 'lala mittai shop's butter sevu'.
I prefer the 'spicy kara sev' better. It is a very simple recipe and won't demand much skills as we need for a murukku. My mom used to make them for us in a very spicy manner, which my elder brother exclaims as smoky HOT and I am sharing her recipe here. It is a ritual nowadays in our house to make some snacks before weekend, that too a must during winter:) I have to stock up a small batch for hubby's snack needs before he buys home whatever he sees.

Grind the items in a blender to a medium coarse texture.
Mix that masala with the flours, add salt and 2 tbsp of hot oil.
(Adding hot oil reduces oil absorption while frying).
Add required water and knead into a soft chapathi dough consistency.
Fill the 'murukku press' with the prepared dough.
Heat the oil in a wok.
Press the dough in circular form as shown below.

Kara sev after frying.

Flip once and take out after the bubbles disappear.
Drain excess oil and place over paper towels.
Kara chev is ready!

Tips:

Perfectly prepared kara sev should not be oily.
Always keep the gram flour in refrigerator,this will result less oil absorption.
Add some hot oil while kneading the dough to get a crispier sev without much oil.

Serving suggestions:

Break it into long pieces.
Allow it to cool completely and store in air tight container.
Serve as snack with tea.

Event:
Though this kara sev contains very little ajwain (omam), it will have much flavor from ajwain.
So I am sending this kara sev to 'Cooking with seeds event - Ajwain' hosted by Kavita of 'seasoned and dressed' . The event is the brain child of 'Priya.' of 'Priya's easy and tasty recipes'. Happy hosting dear!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy New year to all!
Here is a famous and delicious Indian dessert to welcome the New year. Usually rasmalai is prepared from scratch. But I have used Gits ready made rasmalai mix here and explained the authentic method too.

The pack contains two sachets. One is for the chenna and the other contains nuts / thickeners to add to milk. Prepare chenna as per directions and make flat balls. Cook them in hot water (in LOW HEAT and kept open). In the same time prepare sugar syrup and immerse the cheese balls in it for 10 minutes.

Now start boiling the required quantity of milk in a broad vessel and add the contents of next sachet. Add the soaked rasgullas to the milk mixture and let it cool.Yields 16 rasmalai. Keep refrigerated overnight and serve chilled.

Authentic method:

Below is the traditional procedure I follow. The readymade version will not call for much effort, whereas this authentic procedure will yield more stiff and delicious rasmalais:)

Boil milk in a vessel.
Squeeze the lemon and mix 1/2 cup water to the juice.
Add the lemon juice / vinegar to the boiling milk and stir slowly.
Put off heat.
Now the milk gets curdled to form paneer (a cheese variety).

Place a cheese cloth / new white cloth over the strainer and pour the curdled milk.
Pour some cold water to remove the lemon's sourness.
Squeeze out all the water and make a bundle using the cloth. Place it on the strainer or hang over a kitchen sink to loose all the water content.
Let it remain in this position for 45 mins to 2 hours , depending upon the quantity.

The hard cheese we get is called chenna. We can buy it in Indian grocery stores also.

Now knead the chenna to make a smooth dough. Add flour and knead again.

Make small balls of equal size of 1.5 cm diameter approximately, flatten it slightly and keep aside.

In another vessel mix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring it to boil.

Once it starts boiling add the chenna balls and cook covered for 30 minutes (with lid partially open and in LOW HEAT).

The rasagulla will become double the size.

Drop one ball in cold water and if it sinks to the bottom , then it is cooked well.
If not so , then cook for another 5 minutes.